New Strain, New Lockdowns... New Travel Sales!

Ever since news came out late last week of a new Coronavirus strain there have been reactions... and overreactions... and WTF reactions. The Omicron strain, which was originally the Nu strain but renamed because people would mistake the Greek letter Nu for the word "new", seems to have originated in countries in Southern African. It has already spread to numerous other countries.

Countries including the US have reacted swiftly to Omicron's emergence. Travel from several African countries has been banned. Austria has gone back into lockdown. Some point to Austria's decision to go back into lockdown as either overreaction or evidence that the new strain is dangerous. The thing is, Austria planned this return to stay-home policies weeks ago, based on a resurgence of Delta. Still, it's important not to overreact. There's not enough information yet to determine if Omicron is more contagious or hard-hitting than other strains, particularly Delta, or if it evades antibodies created by existing vaccines.

Alas overreaction right now is in plentiful supply. The stock market's global swoon on Friday is one example. The market's been mixed today but continues to be choppy, evidence that traders are rushing to react to every bit of news that drips in.

Along with overreaction there's... wtf-action. When there's a new strain of the virus popping up it would be prudent to hold back a bit on travel. But every travel company I've ever done business with is bombarding me with Cyber Monday sales. I know, it's not cause-and-effect; companies planned their sales weeks ago. But there's definitely poor timing to the roll out.

The Wheel of Time Turns: 30 Years In and Out of Fandom

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again.

Just as the story of the Wheel of Time spans a long time so, too, does my involvement with it. I wrote recently how the release of the Wheel of Time series on Amazon Prime reminded me how it has now been 30 years since I started reading the books.

Early on I was an avid follower of the series. I devoured the books as soon as they came out. I was thrilled to find an online discussion group in 1993. I participated actively in that group and its successor for several years, and to this day I maintain friendships formed there. I literally met my wife there. We've been together 27 years now!

I even created a web page about Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time in 1994. Yes, 1994. Yes, that predates Wikipedia by more than 6 years! I don't have a screenshot of what it looked like back then, but the page is still online today... and honestly hasn't changed much since about 2001.

Pictured: a screenshot of My Robert Jordan fandom webpage, little changed in 20 years

"Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again."


That line from the prologue of every volume of the series describes my own relationship with the series. As big a fan as I was of the story in the mid/late 1990s I lost interest not long after.

I always thought The Shadow Rising (1992), the 4th volume of the series, was the best book. Jordan broadened the canvas of the story considerably and tied together the actions of the present with the legends of the distant past in a compelling way. The 5th book, The Fires of Heaven (1993), wasn't as good, but after as much of a magnum opus as I felt Shadow Rising was I was still eager to continue the series.

The problem really started with the sixth book, The Lord of Chaos (1994). It moved slowly, and it seemed like nothing important or interesting happened. My disappointment grew with the seventh book, A Crown of Swords (1996), which was more of the same. Then, with a nearly 2 year wait until the next book, which had no promise of being any better, I gave up. I stopped caring about the story and the characters. I never read The Path of Daggers (1998) or any subsequent books, though I did remain active in the newsgroup despite that for a few more years for the friendships I had there.

Ah, but the Wheel turns 'round again. Here in 2021, 7 years after the series was completed— with a whopping 14 books— a streaming TV series launches. And with it my interest in the Wheel of Time is reborn. It is not the beginning, for there are neither beginnings nor endings to the Wheel of Time, but it is a beginning.